A company installing fans on the roof of a South Wales crematorium
endangered workers and members of the public with a haphazard approach
to safety.
Employees of IFZW Maintenance Ltd. were allowed to work on the roof of Morriston Crematorium in Swansea without any protection from falls - a risk to their own safety and to members of the public attending funeral services.
Swansea Magistrates' Court heard on 27 June that IFZW was installing fans as part of a mercury abatement system when an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive carried out an unannounced visit on 15 August last year.
Two employees were seen working on the flat roof without any edge protection. They were using an unsecured ladder leaning on the wall to gain access, with members of the public walking past.
The company had already been served with a Prohibition Notice by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for working on top of cremator equipment without fall protection at a site in Sheffield nine weeks previously.
IFZW Maintenance Ltd., of High Street, Biggleswade, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 for its failings, and was fined £11,500 and ordered to pay £3,208.30 in costs.